Be careful what you say, your TV may be listening February 8, 2015 The Capitalist is often on the look out for the latest tech, and the new smart TV from Samsung is certainly attention grabbing. It comes with on-demand TV, mobile applications and a screen resolution four times higher than average HD. The problem is that you may just have caught its attention too. The device’s voice [...]
Cleaners turn cupid for singles on Valentine’s day. How Handy! February 8, 2015 Valentine’s day is not a lot of fun for many time-poor singletons, but the helpful types at Handy, the app that lets you hire cleaners and DIY help, are turning cleaners into cupid – and all for charity. The Book Bus, a charity that helps poor children to read, has teamed up with the app [...]
King Digital investor and Index Ventures partner Ben Holmes is hunting for tech unicorns February 8, 2015 Ben Holmes first heard about King Digital Entertainment, the company behind three of the global top-grossing iPhone apps, including Candy Crush Saga, over a decade ago. At that time in 2004 Holmes, a partner at the new London offices of Index Ventures, represented one of the few venture capital firms still investing in consumer-facing internet [...]
Italy bank governor hopeful of first economic growth since 2011 February 8, 2015 ITALIAN officials upgraded the country’s growth forecast on the weekend as they expect a significant boost from the European Central Bank’s (ECB) bond-buying programme. The Italian central bank forecasts the economy to grow by more than 0.5 per cent this year and at least 1.5 per cent in 2016, the central bank’s governor Ignazio Visco [...]
Debt burden and weak balance sheets impacting on oil prices February 8, 2015 OVERSUPPLY in the oil sector is not enough to explain the extent of recent decline in the market, according to research published on the weekend from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). The price of Brent crude has fallen by over 50 per cent since June last year, trading at around $58 a barrel last [...]
Obituary John Whitehead February 8, 2015 John Whitehead, a former senior partner and co-chairman of Goldman Sachs who helped make it a top-tier Wall Street firm and led its international expansion, has died, the investment bank said. He was 92. Whitehead joined Goldman Sachs in 1947 and worked his way to the highest rung of its corporate ladder before leaving after [...]
City Moves for 09 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 8, 2015 Cohn & Wolfe The communications agency has appointed Helen Ridgway as chief executive of technology agency AxiCom, which it acquired seven years ago. Cohn & Wolfe, in turn, is part of WPP. Ridgway co-founded AxiCom 20 years ago. Her client base includes Tyco and Microsoft Devices Group. Insight Investment Shankar Athreya has been appointed head [...]
Best of the Brokers for 09 February 2015 February 8, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BT GROUP Besi Research reiterated its “buy” rating for the telecoms group, after incorporating the upcoming EE deal into its forecasts. The broker said “given the strategic opportunity and synergy potential”, the price being paid is fair, and added that BT’s dividend is [...]
Inflation report to give clues on rate hike date – London Report February 8, 2015 THE BANK of England’s quarterly inflation report is this week expected to offer an insight into whether historically-low interest rates will be increased this year or next. Howard Archer, of IHS Global Insight, said: “The Bank of England will obviously have to cut its near-term inflation forecasts sharply given that consumer price inflation fell sharply [...]
US retail sales predicted to have fallen – New York Report February 8, 2015 RETAIL sales figures for January are likely to be the highlight for the economic week in the US. Economists expect the sales to have dipped by around 0.5 per cent over January, following a fall of 0.9 per cent in December. A preliminary reading on US consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan is due [...]
